Goals, present position and prospects of forage sorghum breeding in Hungary

Abstract

Forage sorghum species, comprising grain and silage sorghum (S orghum bicolor) and sudangrass (Sorghum sudanense ), are considered the most drought-tolerant field crops in Hungary (Siklósiné Rajki, 1997). Several features, such as its tropical origin, deep voluminous roots, and thick waxy leaves and stem, enable the plants to survive periods with insufficient rainfall (Wall and Ross, 1970). Owing to its large roots, the crop shows wide adaptability to soils with moderate or low fertility. Though sorghum is used mainly for forage in Hungary, it is a very important source of bioenergy in other countries. Hungary lies in the northern part of the European sorghum belt, so the emphasis in the breeding programme is to develop early or mid-early forage sorghum hybrids adapted to Hungarian climatic conditions and soil properties, to introduce them into commercial production and to make them available for farmers.